Katie Prince

poem in which I am leaning against a car


& watching a lightning storm. in which I am a thing 
needing to be struck. how much the sky looks like day—

above all, I wish to be a lit current. I left one place & long 
to leave it all again. this eastern ocean a mirror west. 

my chest the midnight drift of a crystal castle. I am filled
with untruths: a unicorn hoof in place of a heart, pillows 

in place of lungs. when I breathe I choke on the soft of me. 
each time thunder cracks my body contracts, folds 

against itself like a lightless paper lantern. I want 
to be able to speak about things outside my skin.

when lightning strikes I close my eyes & I am
elsewhere: a galaxy without sight

where the sun is white & intermittent
& there’s always a loud noise to follow, to lead me—

Katie Prince is a poet, essayist, and graphic designer. She holds a BA from the University of Missouri and an MFA from the University of North Carolina Wilmington. In the spring of 2017, she served as artist-in-residence at Klaustrið, in Iceland’s Fljótsdalur valley. Her work has been published in Electric Literature, Fugue, The Adroit Journal, and Poetry Northwest, among others. You can find her online at www.katieprince.com.